


Claymore

by Shianhygge



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Acceptance, Cursed Reader, F/M, Identity Issues, Love, Lucis Reader, Romance, Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-01-19 13:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12411063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shianhygge/pseuds/Shianhygge
Summary: You are a cursed member of the Lucis bloodline. Distant cousin to Noctis and Regis. The last of your cursed bloodline, you are sworn to protect Noctis alongside the Amicitia Family.But what is your curse? When people look at you... all they see is another person. No one will ever know your face.ON TEMPORARY HAITUS! AT LEAST UNTIL I FIGURE OUT WHERE I WANT THIS STORY TO GO!





	1. Prelude Pt 1: The Beginning of the End

You always stood at the King’s side, always silent, always watching, the ever loyal guard dog to the throne. And when you weren’t by the King’s side, you stood next to Cor Leonis, your mentor and official guardian. It had been as such for the past five years, since the time of your sixteenth nameday. For the public, and most of those in the King’s council, you were an enigma, going by no other name but “Nero.” It was quite the well guarded secret, your identity, with only the King and a few others knowing who you truly were. You always wore an obsidian dragon scale plated mask and a Crownsguard uniform consisting of a hooded double breasted waist-length trench coat, so none could see your face. But to understand who you were, was to understand the intimate history of the Line of Lucis. **  
**

In AE, there had been two branches to the Lucian line, both descendents of the first Lucian King. The primary branch, of which King Regis and Prince Noctis were descendants of, and the secondary branch, whose members had served as the King’s support. But as the years passed with no acknowledgement for their work, and no reward for their sacrifice, the second Lucian branch grew resentful of the primary branch with their leader, Avaritia Lucis Nerva, stroking the flames. In following years a coup d’etat brewed in secret until full on fighting began within the walls of Insomnia, family killing each other, and the fifteenth Lucian King fought his friend and cousin, Avaritia. Avaritia had been able to overpower his old friend enough to cut his hand off, and snatch the Ring of the Lucii for himself.

However, with the Ring of the Lucii came the judgement of its past owners. And Avaritia burned. The Lucian traitor had burned at his king’s feet until he was nothing but dark charcoal ashes, leaving nothing but the ring, which laid untouched by the burning flames. Consequently, with Avaritia’s judgement, came the judgement of all the members of the secondary Lucian branch. The members that had revolted with their leader had burned as well, and the members who did nothing were cursed along with any of their descendants.

The curse inflicted upon the secondary line of Lucis was a curse of acceptance, a morbid method to teach the secondary Lucian’s their place in the world. For those who were cursed would never have their face seen again until the day of their passing, or until the old kings lifted the curse. The cursed Lucian, to another person, would take on the appearance of that which the person desired the most. This quickly became a problem, as it was near impossible to marry another person who loved you for you and not what the curse made them see. By King Regis’s standards, the curse was unjust, but the old kings were a wrathful and arrogant bunch, finding humor and satisfaction at seeing the secondary line suffer. As a result, the already decreased population of the secondary Lucian line became smaller and smaller with each generation, until it was only your family left. But your particular family had survived only because of lies and deception, your great grandmother lying to your great grandfather, your grandmother lying to your grandfather, and your father lying to your mother. And now, you were the only secondary Lucian left. For when the people around you had found out about the deception, they responded with violence, and you had returned home from primary school to a house full of dead bodies.

You had been barely eight years old at the time, and you were sure that if the King had not caught wind of such a tragedy, you would not be alive today. King Regis had been investigating the disappearance of the fabled “secondary line of Lucis,” which had disappeared from the historical records after the 87th Lucian king, when Cor Leonis caught wind of gossip involving the death of an entire family in Insomnia with the last name of Nerva, and the shared middle name of Lucis. It had been Cor who had found you in the orphanage that the city guard sent you to, sitting on a window bench with your knees drawn up to your chest, and eyes gazing thoughtfully out to the outside world. What struck Cor was that there was a certain strength to your gaze and posture, one that he has only seen in the King’s own face many times. What softened Cor’s stern gaze at your figure, was that you were younger than he had expected. You were the same age as the young Prince, and you had lost everything.

And despite his reputation as being a stern and no-nonsense member of the Crownsguard, Cor felt his heart melt at the sight of you. A young eight year old girl who had lost everything, but still had the strength to walk on. That was when Cor knew that you couldn’t spend your life in an orphanage, taking your smaller hand in his and simply held it until you finally had the mind to speak with the older man. Children always had a way of understanding the gaze of an adult during strange times, and this was one case. When you finally met Cor’s gaze, you saw the understanding and empathy, and knew that you didn’t have to stay strong in front of him. It was then, that Cor saw the strong posture leave your small body, and you allowed yourself to shed tears for the first time since you walked into that house of corpses.

It was safe to say that you became rather attached to the Immortal Shogun after that. So much so, that when he had to report back to the King on his discoveries and had to leave you in the orphanage, you fought the caretakers in order to run after him. What a sight it must have been, for the scary Immortal to be held captive by a young girl. You would not let go of his pants until he directed a stern glare at you, but then you opted to take his katana captive, and to avoid hurting you to reclaim it, Cor was forced to bring you to the palace. Oh how the city guards’ eyes bugged when they set them of the sight of Cor Leonis, walking up the Palace steps with a small girl clutching his hand. But nobody said anything for fear of the Shogun’s wrath.

Your first audience with King Regis, wasn’t anything you had imagined. From the tales of your ancestors, you believed the kings to be wrathful and arrogant beings where you had to watch what you said. But King Regis was anything but. You weren’t made to see the King in his throne room, but in his private quarters while he had afternoon tea with his son. While the King’s eyes had trained and focused onto Cor, it was Prince Noctis who had noticed you first, eyes wide and innocent as he wiggled out of his seat to get a closer look at you.

“Who are you?” the young Prince innocently inquired, deep blue eyes looking straight into your own, and then, remembering his manners, grinned and extended his right hand, “I’m Noctis.”

You had shuffled closer to Cor when Noctis approached, nervous that you were in the presence of royalty, but slowly shuffled out from behind Cor in order to bend the knee, taking the Prince’s hand into your own and planting a chaste kiss on it, just like how your great grandmother had drilled into your head. That you were to treat royalty with the utmost respect. You quickly bowed your head, not seeing Noctis turn a bright shade of red, the King’s utter amusement, and Cor’s look of approval. “My name is Y/N, my Prince.” you introduced yourself, remembering to keep your head down until told to rise.

Noctis spluttered, not knowing how to react, and why would he, he was only eight. “N-no! Stand up! P-please?” the young Prince panicked, face morphing expressions freely, as he laid his hands on your shoulders, trying to make you stand up.

It was then, that you heard heavy footsteps approach, and a deep voice instructed you, “You may stand, Y/N.” And you rose, your back straightening, but neck forced to angle upwards to meet the King’s eyes.

The face, you recognized, the mannerisms, you did not, and you found yourself scared, fearfully backing up to shield yourself with Cor’s legs, offering a meek, “Good day, my King.”

It was then that King Regis did something you didn’t expect from the old stories told by your family. He knelt before you. Lowered himself to be able to look directly into your eyes with a kind and gentle expression. The look that your father had always given you before… You cut off your thoughts when King placed a hand on your head and gently ruffled, “Do not be afraid, dear girl,” King Regis’s voice a soft tenor, “You are safe here.” He was such a kind man that you could do nothing but nod as the King ushered you to sit with them for tea.

And while Noctis shared his favorite treats with you, at awe at how you were both the same age, Cor whispered into King Regis’s ear, explaining your circumstances. As the kind King processed the information, he mourned for your loss and burden even when he finally had his answers about the secondary Lucian line. Looking at you smiling, sitting among his family, and being the same age as his son, King Regis could not bring himself to leave you alone in the orphanage. So he decided with the utmost finality, for he was sure that he late wife would have agreed, to take you in as his ward. An attempt at mending the wounds inflicted to the Line of Lucis all those centuries ago.

From then on, the King had taken you under his wing, providing for you just as if you were family. The King who had wanted a daughter, fawned over you excessively with his son, the two of them glad to have another in the family. But this happiness wouldn’t last. Within the month, the law dictated that you were to live separately from the royal family, and Cor was assigned as your guardian, your name becoming Y/N Lucis Leonis. The King and Noctis had been saddened that you would be unable to stay with them, but were satisfied that Cor would be able to leave you at the Palace when he worked, and that you would be attending the same school and classes that Noctis did.

It was around this time that you were introduced to Ignis Scientia, Noctis’s friend who was two years older than you two. Even at the age of ten, Ignis was serious and composed, always there to keep you and the Prince from getting into too much trouble, and making sure you were both properly taken care of. It annoyed you especially when Ignis blamed you for the trouble that Noctis manages to get himself into. That you were a bad influence.

It was obvious that Ignis held a general distaste for you as the days passed in his and Noctis’s company. You could often feel the glares on the back of your head whenever you were too rowdy, too unladylike. Ignis had always been the calm and composed individual of your group, but you hadn’t pegged him to be so cold and mean. The relationships between you all changed when you had disrupted Ignis’s schedule one day after classes. And in a manner that very much bewildered you, he had snapped, calling you out on all your faults, how you always caused disaster wherever you went, that if it weren’t for your middle name you would be living on the streets, and that you were a hideous smirch of the Lucis Line, a disgrace to the King, Noctis, and Cor.

You were always tenacious, skin quite thick against the people who tried to bully you. But Ignis, being the analytical person that he was, even when he was young, had known where to cut, and it hurt deeply. You had been late to arrive at the school entrance, having stayed back to assist the teacher with some errands, and luckily, Noctis was even more late than you, so he didn’t have to witness Ignis’s lashings at you. It had taken you a moment to process all that Ignis had said at the time, you were too surprised that Ignis had yelled at you. But while Ignis used many large words that you didn’t really understand half the time, you could tell from his tone that he was insulting you. When the outburst ended, and you processed what Ignis had been saying, silent tears trickled from your eyes, and you ran.

From that day forward, you made a point to avoid Ignis, even going as far as to avoid Noctis when he was with Ignis. Quite frankly, if you were intruding, you didn’t want to be a bother. And if Ignis really disliked you so much, then you would stay out of his life. But that proved difficult when you felt guilty for abandoning Noctis, so you settled for simply not acknowledging Ignis. It was immensely childish, you now admit, especially when even the King noticed the disagreement between you two. Even more so when Ignis had come to apologize for his behavior, bringing a plush Chocobo, and you still ignored him.

It had been the King who sat you down and talked to you, taking time out of his busy schedule, with gentle and patient tones, about your conflict with Ignis. King Regis had been like a father to you, second only to Cor, listening as you mentioned how Ignis hated you, and that he blew up on you that day, when you weren’t even that late. He had agreed that what the older boy had said to you had been rude and hurtful, assuring you that you had a right to be angry with him, but he also had you try and understand who Ignis was as a person.

“Ignis is… he’s really serious about his duties and is cold. He’s always telling Noct and I not to do things, and he gets really upset when some things don’t go his way.” you began, staring down at your lap, where the plush Chocobo sat, it’s face staring up at you, “He scolds me when i do something wrong, and makes sure that I don’t get dirty. And he said that I was a bad influence on Noct. B-but…” You paused and sniffed before quietly admitting, “He can be really nice, too.” You clutched the plush Chocobo and lifted your head to stare up at the King’s green eyes, “I really wanted to be his friend, but-” your voice cracked and your childish face twisted up, more tears leaking down your cheeks. “I-Iggy doesn’t like me, does he?”

“I apologize for that, as well.” You heard a voice come from the entrance of the sitting room, stopping your tears enough to look at Ignis, who stood by the door, looking quite guilty.

“Ah, Count Scientia, thank you for coming. Could you please watch over Y/N for a moment?” The King smirked, rising from his seat to walk out the door when Ignis nodded. When he was halfway out the door, the two of you heard him chime, playfully, “Kiss and make up, you two.”

To the older you, it was hilarious that the King had been the first to ship you and Ignis together.

The silence in the room had been deafening was Ignis waited for you to speak, and you waited for Ignis to speak. But in the end, it was broken by Ignis, who had made his way over to the couch where you were seated. “You kept the Chocobo.” Ignis observed with surprised green eyes focused on the plush toy cuddled within your arms before glancing up at your tearful face, the guilt peeking out again. Your only response was to hug the Chocobo lighter to your chest, and Ignis released a sigh, kneeling before your feet so that he could look into your eyes. Pulling out a handkerchief, Ignis gently wiped at you stained cheeks. And as he wiped, he spoke, “I took my anger out on you that day, and that was immature and wrong of me.” You stopped avoiding his gaze as he spoke softly, “I won’t make excuses for my behavior, Y/N. What I said was cruel and untrue. Instead, for my behavior, I’m the one who is the smirch to the Royal Fa-”

“You’re not.” you interrupted, eyes red, still sniffling, but gaze firm. “You’re not a sm-…mir…smirch, Ignis.” You clarified, having had trouble pronouncing the the word, and grabbed at the hand still wiping your tears. “I looked up the word.” You really did. You didn’t like it when people used words that you couldn’t understand. “And you’re not dirty. You’re never dirty.” As if to prove your point, you held Ignis’s hand to your face and nuzzled it, with a smile, “See?”

Ignis’s gaze softened on you a lot more, caught off guard of your use of the word ‘smirch’ and the innocent defense towards his statement. From the beginning, his dislike towards you was more for concern towards the Royal Family for taking an orphan from the city and offering their home to the child. What if you were one of the child weapons that the Imperial Army was training? But as he gazed at your wide eyes, he couldn’t justify his behavior towards you. You were tomboyish, yes, but you were kind and caring towards the people you knew.

“And I’m sorry, too.” Ignis’s thoughts were interrupted when you suddenly threw your arms around him, hugging him closely, “I’m sorry that I was late on your birthday, Iggy.” You’re eyes twitched around when Ignis only stiffened, so you mumbled into the fabric covering his shoulder, “Happy belated Birthday, Ignis.” You only relaxed when the tension left Ignis’s shoulders and he hugged you back. But the moment didn’t last, because the sound of several cameras echoed in the room, causing the two of you to look towards the door, where Noctis and his father stood, both with a camera pointed at you two, grinning in victory.

The King’s grin lit up his face as he gave the both of you a thumbs up  _ ~~(the dork)~~_ , “Get married soon, you two!”

While you stared in confusion at the events going on, not entirely sure what the King meant, Ignis understood quite well, what he meant, not turning red, but his heart beat faster.


	2. Prelude Pt 2: The End of the Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter how much you wish it, your destiny will catch up to you in the end. And when the time comes... what can you do but submit.

From that time on, you were seen around Ignis much more. But happy times didn’t last. Within that same month, Noctis had been attacked by a monster when he was outside the city and sent into a coma. Cor had gone to assist the King in the rescue, letting you know of the situation, and you, fearful for your dear friend’s life, ran to Ignis’s apartment. It had been around ten at night, when you got to Ignis’s home, knocking on the door insistently. “Ignis! Open up!”

The door swung open to reveal a sleepy Ignis, glasses gone and light brown hair disheveled. “Y/N? What’s wr-?” He had been cut off from his statement when you launched yourself at him, bringing him into a hug. The eleven year old Ignis stared down at you in surprise as you wept with your arms around him. “Y/N? What happened?”

“It’s Noct! He was attacked!” You sobbed, clinging onto the older boy even more when his body stiffened.

Ignis let out a heavy sigh, and gently led you into the apartment, “All we can do is wait for him, Y/N. The King and his men will save Noctis.”

And you waited, going about your daily activities with Ignis, waiting for the day where Noctis would wake up. When he did wake up, he was sent to Tenebrae to recover, leaving you and Ignis alone once more. It was then, that you decided that you hated waiting. You hated leaving fate in someone else’s hands. And when Tenebrae was seized by the Imperial army, you couldn’t stand still and watch as Noctis suffered from the loss of a friend.

Cor choked on his drink when you later told him that you wanted to train to become a member of the Kingsguard. Disbelief that a nine year old wanted to give her life to the throne and pride that you would take after him despite him not being your real father, was written on Cor’s hardened features. But you were firm in your decision. You didn’t want to be a burden to Noctis. Seeing your resolve, Cor reluctantly agreed to train you in your free time, but you were also meant to go to school as well.

For the next seven years you would follow a strict schedule set by both Ignis and Cor. Morning training, school, evening and night training, homework, and sleep. Ignis hadn’t taken the news of your decision that well, but he knew that it was better if you had a way to defend yourself. Noctis, however, was indignant that you wanted to put yourself at risk for his sake. King Regis had accepted your decision with an air of defeat. He had intended on keeping you out of the violence, but it was in your blood to be a fighter.

Your training had led to developing a friendly relationship with Gladiolus, who was tickled at your enthusiasm to protecting Noctis, even more so when Gladiolus had gotten over his dislike of the Prince. And then you met Prompto when you and Noctis entered high school. And you were enjoying life, having forgotten about the curse on your family.

But then… you turned sixteen.

The problem with the curse, was that when you looked at yourself in the mirror, all you saw was yourself. And that was what you saw on the morning of your sixteenth birthday, right before morning training. But when you left your room and went to greet Cor, who had made breakfast that morning (it was a one time thing, you usually made breakfast for the both of you), Cor’s eyes widened uncharacteristically with alarm.

“You’re supposed to be dead.” Cor muttered disbelievingly, taking a hesitant step towards you.

You cocked your head to the side with a confused face, “What?”

Cor only responded with a mumbled name before shaking his head and drawing his blade, pointing it at you menacingly. “Whatever is happening, you will not be able to seduce me with this illusion.”

Fearful, you backed away from your foster father, “Cor…”

When he swung, you dodged, but not enough, the katana grazing your arm. Scared, you clambered to your feet and ran out the front door, with Cor chasing after you. Your feet took you to the palace, where you used your Kingsguard keycard to enter, Cor was still chasing you with his weapon at the ready. You didn’t know where to go, simply running around the Palace to escape Cor. But then, you bumped into Gladio, who called after his sister when you continued running. Then, you suddenly knew what was happening, realizing too late when you ran down a dead end.

 _The curse. How could I have forgotten?_  You lamented, realizing that the only person who would be able to help you was the King. But to do that, you had to get past Cor… and a small militia of Crownsguard, who all looked at you in fear and confusion, no doubt now realizing that they weren’t all seeing the same person. There was simply no way to get around them all. Your heart dropped into the pit of your stomach.

 _Wait. The curse takes effect when the individual turns sixteen because…_  You thought back quickly and urgently, trying to remember what your grandmother used to say about it. Cor had begun his assault on you when you remembered,  _Because it is at the age of sixteen that a descendent of the Line of Lucis gains their power._ You closed your eyes and concentrated, praying that this was true as you waited for Cor’s downward blow to land.

A sharp ping of clashing metal echoed in the hallway, and you opened your eyes to see a rapier in your hand. But you weren’t as strong as Cor, or any of the other Lucian descendants, so the rapier groaned in protest. If you stayed like this, Cor’s blade would continue its descent. Quickly parrying, you threw your blade down the hallway and passed the Crownsguard, warping to your weapon and picking it up before sprinting towards the King’s dining room.

Once you got to the dining room doors, you didn’t hesitate in running through and jumping over the table, putting some distance between your pursuers. “Help me!” You pled, kneeling in front of the King, your weapon gone.

“Luna!” You heard Noctis shout from next to you, but you didn’t respond.

“Aulea…” Regis gasped in awe, and you frowned for a moment before the King came to his senses, “No… You are Y/N.” There came a noticeable gasp from the room when you nodded, and King Regis could only look at you with sympathy, standing up and ordering, “Cor, Gladiolus, Noctis, please come with me. The rest of you, go back to your stations.”

Everyone was spurred into motion, following the King’s commands as ordered. All except you, who remained knelt where you last were, too startled and fearful to get near your friends.  _They’ll never see **you**  again._ Not without a mask like your ancestors did. But even then, your face would be hidden. Simply the fact that those you help dear would never truly see you was crippling, and you found that you had no will to move. Then, you thought to Ignis and dreaded his reaction. He hadn’t found out about this change, yet. What would he see?

“Y/N” your head snapped to attention when King Regis called for you softly, kneeling, with some difficulty, to take your hand. Stiffly, you allowed the kind King to pull you to your feet, knowing that in his eyes, while he was conscious of the fact that you were Y/N Lucis Leonis, he still saw the love of his life in your place. So, clutching onto his arm, you supported the King as he led you to the sitting room, your head bowed, not meeting the gazes of your foster father and friends.

When you all had entered the private chamber, and the doors were shut securely, King Regis drew, from the depths of his desk drawer, a daintily wrapped package. “I had hoped that you would never have to use this, Y/N.” he confessed, turning the present in his hands before handing it to you, “But I was a fool to think that the curse would be so forgiving.”

With shaking hands, you took the neatly wrapped package, “Thank you, My King.”

“I am afraid that you will not be thanking me for long, my dear.” Regis lamented, gazing purposely at the package when you began to unwrap it, and pulled out the object inside, “It was a relic, said to belong to the very first of our line. And it is yours now, Y/N.”

In your hands was a fierce obsidian mask, plated with draconic scales. Simple, yet beautiful and menacing at the same time. And something within you knew that this mask really did belong to you. And with bated breath, you lifted the mask to your face, securely tying the silver ribbon around your face. For you, it was simply putting on the mask that hid your face to the world. For the others, it was clarity, that you had been there the entire time.

But you lamented.

Because how could anybody love you now?


	3. Act I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The curse is in full effect, and you're avoiding Ignis.
> 
> Too bad you didn't speak to him before your mission, huh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind and encouraging reviews and comments!
> 
> Don't know when the next chapter will be posted. I'm writing again, which is good, though I don't think I'll be updating every single day... >.> Just not happening with finals and working two jobs.

It was easy to see that your demeanor had changed the slightest after that day. You thought that maybe the Kings of Yore would make an exception in your case, but they hadn’t because you weren’t special. No one was labeled ‘special’ in the eyes of the Old Kings, as King Regis had explained to you, only ‘beneficial’ or a ‘threat.’ And your family had long since been labeled a threat, so by relation, you were one as well.

It sucked, running around everyday with a mask on, having to hide your face from everyone you were close to. And it sucked even more when rumors began to fly around Insomnia of “Nero,” the Crownsguard member so disfigured that they had to wear a mask to cover up the horror. It amused you at first, how people seemed to look up to you for being so brave at your young age, but then came the jeers, “How ugly are you underneath that pretty mask of yours? Why I don’t think any man could want you.”

And try as you might to ignore such negative and hateful things, often walking away with a fierce glare, you could help but allow these negative comments to add to your already massive amounts of insecurities regarding your family’s curse. Particularly, when it came to how no one could ever want you, as the first face that would pop up with that comment, was Ignis’s. How, if he learned of your curse, he’d demand to see what lay under. And if he saw someone that wasn’t you… you weren’t sure if you could take it. He was someone that you had a crush on for five years already, and you were unwilling to suffer heartbreak.

So you avoided Ignis and the others as much as you could, spending more time with Cor, even dropping out of high school in favor of being home schooled. As much as you enjoyed the normality of being in a public school, there was no way to avoid the questions that came with your mask. And with everyone but Gladio attending school, it was easy to avoid Prompto and Ignis. That being said, you never avoided texts and calls, only face to face meeting. Unfortunately, you could only avoid them all for so long because when summer vacation rolled in, they all flocked to the Citadel.

“I need you to take this to His Majesty.” Your adopted father instructed, holding out a manilla folder, “It’s time sensitive, Y/N.” All around the two of you, various wounded Kingsglaive members were escorted into ambulances.

Knowing that the file might have something to do with Niflheim trying to invade more territories, you nodded, gently taking the folder before saluting your commanding officers and sprinted into the Citadel, flashing your identification at the various security guards as you fast walked through the dark marble halls and boarded an elevator. Pressing the button for the Throne room, the doors slowly started to close, shutting you in the elegantly designed metal box.

It was a fast ride up, the metal doors sliding open before you knew it. With a sigh, you stepped out of the elevator and strolled towards the Throne room, nodding at the guards to let you in. Though, when you stepped through, you didn’t expect to come face to chest with the man you were trying to avoid. And even if the meeting was inevitable, you didn’t want the first interaction in a long time to be running face first into his chest.

“Careful now.” Ignis chided, catching you before you fell backwards, his hands resting on your hips firmly, but gently, holding you still. “Long time no see, Y/N.”

Blushing at how close the two of you were, you shyly kept your gaze at his chest. “Hi, Ignis.”

Despite how much the mask covered your face, Ignis could still see the blush that invaded your face. This prompted an affectionate expression from Ignis, and his right hand came up to gently brush the skin just on the edges of the mask. “You’ve been avoiding me, haven’t you?”

Your breathing hitched, and you were unsure of what to say. You never underestimated Ignis’s intelligence, but you didn’t think he’d suddenly bring it up. “I…”

Ignis sighed and adjusted his glasses before gently leaning down to whisper in your ear, “When you feel that you’re ready, come find me, Y/N.” Releasing you, Ignis walked away, “I’ll be waiting.”

He left you, at the doorway with more insecurities.

It was a frightening feeling that overcame you as the days passed. You’d realized that the reason you were bothered by the possibility that Ignis didn’t see your real face was that you’d come to care for him. It had become more than a crush, you’d realized. It was love. And it scared you.

Though, no. You weren’t ready to face Ignis yet. It was too much in so little time.

So you did what you had to. You left Insomnia.

No, it wasn’t permanently, you weren’t that much of a cliche. You’d gone on an escort mission to ensure some of Insomnia’s mechanics and engineers were brought to Lestallum safely. Usually, the escort mission wouldn’t call for several members of the Crownsguard to be assigned, but the forecast had predicted a terrible storm to hit Lucis. Cor stated that it would be a good experience for your training, and encouraged your joining the escort, but his disapproving stare as you left home demonstrated that he knew that you were running from Ignis.

Which led you to your current predicament.

~~~~~

The storm in question that was predicted was a typhoon of sorts, high winds, low visibility, heavy rain, and slippery roads. Unfortunately, the group of escorts you were accompanied by were ill prepared to deal with such weather. The mechanics were all in a rush to Lestallum, all the more impatient since they wanted to get their work done as fast as possible and head back to Insomnia. As such, your convoy was forced to drive through Lucis in the bad weather, and at night so as to make up for time lost to slow driving. You’d warned them all that normal headlights would do little to deter daemons from attacking the truck, but they didn’t listen, driving past stop after stop as the little light there was faded to darkness. By then, it didn’t take long for the daemons to rise and descend upon the road, causing the truck to skid to a stop.

Inside the truck was panic, civilians fearing for their lives, and a driver that didn’t have the common sense to back up. Muttering obscenities, you straightened your mask and hopped out of the truck with your weapons in hand. The driver was too scared to drive until you had taken care of the Iron Giant standing in the middle of the road ahead.

The rain and wind pelted your form as you stormed forward, squinting your eyes to see better in the dark. It was one Iron Giant, so you would be able to take care of it if you used your powers. Rolling your shoulder, you shivered before throwing your broadsword and warp striking the Iron Giant’s hand, not quite staggering it, but stunning its hand for a few moments. Enough for you to get in a few hits before gravity forced you to descend. Once your feet touched the floor, you rolled in between the daemon’s legs, narrowly missing the giant sword descending towards you. Quickly scrambling to your feet, you spun to deliver several slashes to the back of the Iron Giant’s ankles. Once the Iron Giant’s balance was compromised, you quickly warp striked to the middle of its back, sending it hurdling off the road and off the side, onto the plains below. Sighing, and completely soaked to the bone, water dripping down your face and clothes stuck to your body, you stalked towards the truck, only to have to quickly roll to the side as it sped towards and past you, continuing on its way toward Lestallum.

Flabbergasted, you stared at the retreating vehicle before growling in outrage, “Oh for fuck’s sake!” Then, reaching into your pants pocket, you expected to find your cell phone, only to remember that you had left the phone in your pack on the truck. “Of course!” you yelled into the heavy rain and wind, throwing your hands up into the air.

The sound of moving sludge resounded behind you, and you growled in annoyance, turning around to look at the group of Thunderbombs. “I can’t deal with you right now.” Dodging around the orbs of electricity, you threw your blade down the dark road and warped, trying to quickly backtrack to the campgrounds a half mile back. “If I can just get to the campsite, I’ll be safe for the night.” You thought aloud, panting as used up your energy within three minutes of non-stop warping. With no choice but to make a run for the faint glow in the distance, you quickly allowed your weapon to disappear before sprinting with all your might.

It was dark, however, so as you ran, the sound of wind and heavy rain the only thing that reached your ear, you failed to notice the daemons spawning on the road ahead of you. A few meters later, you were close enough to hear the groaning of a daemon, but too late to avoid the large hand that swatted you, sending you flying off the road and into the dark depths of Taelpar Crag.

The wind rushed past your ears as you fell, leaving you shocked and winded. But knowing that you could die if you didn’t act quickly, you mustered the rest of your strength to summon your blade, throwing it down into the darkness below you and warping. With no strength left in your body, you simply rolled painfully on the muddy ground once you came out of the warp. Exhausted, you tried to resist closing your eyes, but the call for sleep was too great, and you fell unconscious to the barely lit scene of the bottom of Taelpar Crag.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh dear. Now what is a young lady doing napping at the bottom of this godforsaken ravine?” You heard a curious voice above you, rousing you from your state of unconsciousness, but you didn’t move or speak, only wanting to go back to resting. “You’re not dead, are you?” the voice didn’t seem all that bothered by what he’d just implied, but he did sound curious.

“MmmmnNNghhhh” You groaned as you rolled over to lay on your back, half opening your eyes before shutting them again. The sky was still quite dark, rain still falling around you, but not as heavily as during the night. Turning your head to the side, you noticed a funny looking man with a black umbrella and fedor standing off to the side. Something about the man had your soul screaming and calling out, still, you remained on the floor, too sore to pick yourself up. “What’s a gent like you doing down here?” You questioned with a groan, trying not to move too much. “Better yet, how did you get down here in the first place?”

You heard the man chuckle, “I should be asking you the same.”

Prying your eyes open half-way, you glared tiredly, “I asked first. And besides, who the hell are you anyway?”

The man strolled closer, watching you with amber eyes, calculating and amused, behind him, the umbrella twirled, spraying water all over the mud behind him. “A weary traveler who chose the wrong path a long ways back.” He cocked his head to the side, red-ish brown hair shifting with the movement, “A man of no consequence.”

“Yeah,” you scoffed, sitting up in the mud with a grimace, “You use that line on every person you meet, ‘man of no consequence’?” The mask on your face threatened to fall, causing your hands to come up and fix it back into position.

From the corner of your eyes, you saw the strange man smirk, clearly intrigued by your skeptical and weary nature. In only a few seconds, he was crouched in front of you, with a gloved hand outstretched, “Only to those that interest me.”

Without missing a beat, you took the offered gesture, allowing yourself to be pulled up from the muddy floor as the man pulled and stood, seemingly without much effort. Nodding your thanks, you silently strolled towards the riverbed and submerged yourself to clean off the excess mud before climbing out, still soaking wet, but cleaner than before. The strange man sauntered towards you and held the umbrella over both your figures. Shivering, you met the man’s alluring eyes, “Do people usually just accept your unusual introduction?”

A mischievous smirk appeared on the man’s rather handsome face. “Only the gullible ones.”


End file.
